Nuclear energy value. Summary: Nuclear power engineering. Nuclear energy around the world

The twentieth century passed under the sign of the development of a new kind of energy contained in the nuclei of atoms, and became the century of nuclear physics. This energy is many times higher than the energy of the fuel used by mankind throughout its history.

By the middle of 1939, scientists around the world had important theoretical and experimental discoveries in the field of nuclear physics, which made it possible to put forward an extensive research program in this direction. It turned out that the uranium atom can be split into two parts. This releases a tremendous amount of energy. In addition, the fission process releases neutrons, which in turn can fission other uranium atoms and cause a nuclear chain reaction. The nuclear fission reaction of uranium is highly efficient and far surpasses the most violent chemical reactions. Let's compare a uranium atom and an explosive molecule - trinitrotoluene (TNT). When the TNT molecule decays, 10 electron volts of energy are released, and when the uranium nucleus decays, 200 million electron volts, that is, 20 million times more.

These discoveries made a sensation in the scientific world: in the history of mankind there was no scientific event more significant in its consequences than the penetration into the world of the atom and the mastery of its energy. Scientists understood that its main purpose was to generate electricity and use it in other peaceful areas. With the commissioning in the USSR in 1954 of the world's first industrial nuclear power plant with a capacity of 5 MW in Obninsk, the era of atomic energy began. The fission of uranium nuclei became the source of electricity production.

The experience of operating the first nuclear power plants has shown the reality and reliability of nuclear power technology for industrial production electricity. The developed industrial countries have started to design and build nuclear power plants with reactors of various types. By 1964, the total capacity of nuclear power plants in the world had grown to 5 million kW.

Since that time, the rapid development of nuclear energy began, which, making an increasingly significant contribution to general production the world's electricity has become a promising new energy alternative. A boom in orders for the construction of nuclear power plants in the United States began, later in Western Europe, Japan, USSR. The growth rate of the nuclear power industry has reached about 30% per year. By 1986, 365 power units with a total installed capacity of 253 million kW were operating in the world at nuclear power plants. In almost 20 years, the capacity of nuclear power plants has increased 50 times. The construction of nuclear power plants was carried out in 30 countries of the world (Fig. 1.1).

By that time, the studies of the Club of Rome, an authoritative community of world-famous scientists, had become widely known. The conclusions of the authors of the studies boiled down to the inevitability of a fairly close depletion of natural reserves of organic energy resources, including oil, which are key for the world economy, and their sharp rise in price in the near future. With this in mind, the nuclear power industry came at the right time. Potential reserves of nuclear fuel (2 8 U, 2 5 U, 2 2 Th) for the long term solved the vital problem of fuel supply under various scenarios of nuclear power development.

The conditions for the development of nuclear energy were extremely favorable, and economic indicators NPPs also inspired optimism, NPPs could already successfully compete with TPPs.

Nuclear power made it possible to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and drastically reduce emissions of pollutants into the environment from thermal power plants.

The development of nuclear energy was based on the formed energy sector of the military-industrial complex - fairly well mastered industrial reactors and reactors for submarines using the nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) already created for these purposes, the acquired knowledge and significant experience. Atomic energy, which had a huge government support, has successfully fitted into the existing energy system, taking into account the rules and requirements inherent in this system.

The problem of energy security, aggravated in the 70s of the twentieth century. in connection with the energy crisis caused by a sharp rise in oil prices, the dependence of its supply on the political situation, forced many countries to reconsider their energy programs. The development of nuclear energy, by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, reduces the energy dependence of countries that do not have or have limited own fuel and energy

natural resources, from their import and strengthens the energy security of these countries.

In the process of rapid development of nuclear power, of the two main types of nuclear power reactors - thermal and fast neutrons - thermal reactors have become the most widespread in the world.

The types and designs of reactors with different moderators and coolants developed by different countries have become the basis of national nuclear power. Thus, in the United States, pressurized water-moderated reactors and boiling-water reactors became the main ones, in Canada - heavy-water reactors fueled with natural uranium, in the former USSR - pressurized water-moderated reactors (VVER) and uranium-graphite boiling reactors (RBMK), the unit capacity of reactors grew. ... Thus, the RBMK-1000 reactor with an electrical power of 1000 MW was installed at the Leningrad NPP in 1973. The capacity of large nuclear power plants, for example, the Zaporozhye NPP (Ukraine), reached 6,000 MW.

Considering that NPP units operate at almost constant power, covering

NPP "Three Mile Island" (USA)

the basic part of the daily load schedule of the interconnected power systems, in parallel with nuclear power plants in the world, highly maneuverable pumped storage power plants were built to cover the variable part of the schedule and close the night failure in the load schedule.

The high rates of development of nuclear energy did not match the level of its safety. Based on the experience of operating nuclear power facilities, an increasing scientific and technical understanding of processes and possible consequences there was a need to revise technical requirements, which caused an increase in capex and operating costs.

A serious blow to the development of nuclear energy was dealt by a severe accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the United States in 1979, as well as at a number of other facilities, which led to a radical revision of safety requirements, tightening of existing regulations and a revision of nuclear power plant development programs around the world. caused enormous moral and material damage to the nuclear power industry. In the United States, which was the leader in the nuclear power industry, orders for the construction of nuclear power plants stopped in 1979, and their construction in other countries also decreased.

The most severe accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine in 1986, qualified on the international scale of nuclear incidents as an accident of the highest seventh level and causing an ecological catastrophe on a huge territory, the death of people, the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people, undermined the confidence of the world community in nuclear energy.

“The tragedy in Chernobyl is a warning. And not only in nuclear power, ”said Academician V.A. Legasov, member of the government commission, first deputy academician A.P. Aleksandrov, who headed the Institute of Atomic Energy named after I.V. Kurchatov.

In many countries, programs for the development of nuclear energy were suspended, and in a number of countries they completely abandoned their earlier plans for its development.

Despite this, by 2000, nuclear power plants operating in 37 countries of the world generated 16% of the world's electricity production.

The unprecedented efforts undertaken to ensure the safety of operated nuclear power plants allowed at the beginning of the XXI century. restore public confidence in nuclear energy. The time of "renaissance" in its development is coming.

Besides the high economic efficiency and competitiveness, provision of fuel resources, reliability, safety, one of the important factors is that nuclear power is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of electricity, although the problem of disposal of spent fuel remains.

The need for reproduction (breeding) of nuclear fuel became obvious, i.e. construction of fast reactors (breeders), implementation of the reprocessing of the resulting fuel. The development of this direction had serious economic incentives and prospects, was carried out in many countries.

In the USSR, the first experimental work on the industrial use of fast reactors began in

1949, and from the mid-1950s, the commissioning of a series of experimental experimental reactors BR-1, BR-5, BOR-60 (1969) began, in 1973 a dual-purpose nuclear power plant with a reactor with a capacity of 350 MW for electricity generation and seawater desalination; in 1980, the industrial BN-600 reactor with a capacity of 600 MW was launched.

An extensive development program for this area was implemented in the United States. In 1966-1972. the experimental reactor Enrico Fermi l was built, and in 1980 the world's largest research reactor FFTF with a capacity of 400 MW was commissioned. In Germany, the first reactor began operating in 1974, and the constructed SNR-2 high-power reactor was never put into operation. In France, in 1973, the 250 MW Phenix reactor was launched, and in 1986, the 1242 MW Superphenix. Japan commissioned the Joyo pilot reactor in 1977 and the 280 MW Monju reactor in 1994.

In the context of the environmental crisis with which the world community entered the 21st century, nuclear power can make a significant contribution to ensuring reliable power supply, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants into the environment.

Nuclear energy best meets the principles of sustainable development accepted in the world, one of the most important requirements of which is the availability of sufficient fuel and energy resources with their stable consumption in the long term.

In accordance with forecasts based on calculations and modeling of the development of society and the world economy in the 21st century, the dominant role of the electric power industry will continue. By 2030, according to the forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the production of electricity in the world will more than double and exceed 30 trillion. kWh, and according to the forecasts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in the context of the “renaissance” of nuclear power, its share will increase to 25% of the world's electricity production, and over the next 15 years more than 100 new reactors will be built in the world, and the capacity The NPP will grow from 370 million kW in 2006 to 679 million kW in 2030.

At present, countries are actively developing the nuclear power industry with its high share in the total volume of electricity generated, including the USA, Japan, South Korea, Finland. France, reorienting the country's electric power industry to nuclear power and continuing to develop it, successfully solved the energy problem for many decades. The share of nuclear power plants in electricity generation in this country reaches 80%. Developing countries with a still insignificant share of nuclear power generation are rapidly building nuclear power plants. Thus, India announced its intention to build a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 40 million kW in the long term, and China - more than 100 million kW.

Of the 29 NPP units built in 2006, 15 were in Asia. For the first time, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Chile, Thailand, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Poland, Georgia, Belarus and other countries plan to commission nuclear power plants.

The further development of nuclear energy is planned by Russia, which envisages building a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 40 million kW by 2030. In Ukraine, in accordance with the Energy Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030, it is envisaged to increase the output of nuclear power plants to 219 billion kWh, keeping it at the level of 50% of the total output, and to increase the capacity of nuclear power plants by almost 2 times, bringing it to 29.5 million kW, with an installed capacity utilization factor (ICUF) of 85%, including due to the commissioning of new units with a capacity of 1–1.5 million kW and the extension of the operating life of operating NPP units (in 2006, the NPP capacity in Ukraine was 13 , 8 million kWh with the generation of 90.2 billion kWh of electricity, or about 48.7% of the total generation).

The ongoing work in many countries on the further improvement of thermal and fast neutron reactors will further improve their reliability, economic efficiency and environmental safety. In this case, it becomes important the international cooperation... So, with the future implementation of the international project GT MSR (gas turbine modular solar-cooled reactor), which is characterized by a high level of safety and competitiveness, minimization of radioactive waste, the efficiency may increase. up to 50%.

The widespread use in the future of the two-component structure of nuclear power, including nuclear power plants with thermal reactors and with fast neutron reactors that reproduce nuclear fuel, will increase the efficiency of using natural uranium and reduce the level of accumulation of radioactive waste.

It should be noted that the nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) plays an important role in the development of nuclear power, which is actually its backbone factor. This is due to the following circumstances:

• The NFC should be provided with all the necessary structural, technological and constructive solutions for safe and efficient operation;
• NFC is a condition of social acceptability and economic efficiency of nuclear power and its widespread use;
• the development of the nuclear fuel cycle will lead to the need to combine the tasks of ensuring the required level of safety for nuclear power plants generating electricity and minimizing the risks associated with the production of nuclear fuel, including uranium mining, transportation, processing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and disposal of radioactive waste (unified system of safety requirements) ;
• a sharp increase in the production and use of uranium (the initial stage of the NFC) leads to an increase in the danger of natural long-lived radionuclides entering the environment, which requires an increase in the efficiency of fuel use, a decrease in the amount of waste and a closure of the fuel cycle.

The economic efficiency of a nuclear power plant depends directly on the fuel cycle, including reducing the time for refueling and improving the performance of fuel assemblies (FA). Therefore, further development and improvement of the NFC with a high utilization rate of nuclear fuel and the creation of a low-waste closed fuel cycle is of great importance.

The energy strategy of Ukraine provides for the development of the national fuel cycle. Thus, uranium mining should increase from 0.8 thousand tons to 6.4 thousand tons in 2030, the domestic production of zirconium, zirconium alloys and components for fuel assemblies will be further developed, and in the future, the creation of a closed fuel cycle, as well as participation in international cooperation for the production of nuclear fuel. The corporate participation of Ukraine is envisaged in the creation of capacities for the manufacture of fuel assemblies for VVER reactors and in the creation of the International Center for Uranium Enrichment in Russia, Ukraine's entry into the International Nuclear Fuel Bank proposed by the USA.

The provision of nuclear energy with fuel is of paramount importance for its development prospects. The current demand for natural uranium in the world is about 60 thousand tons, with total reserves of about 16 million tons.

In the XXI century. the role of nuclear power in ensuring the increasing production of electricity in the world using more advanced technologies will sharply increase. Nuclear energy does not yet have a serious competitor for the long term. To implement its development on a large scale, it, as already indicated, must have the following properties: high efficiency, resource availability, energy surplus, safety, and acceptability of environmental impact. The first three requirements can be met using a two-component structure of nuclear power, consisting of thermal and fast reactors. With such a structure, it is possible to significantly increase the efficiency of using natural uranium, reduce its production and limit the level of radon entering the biosphere. Ways to achieve the required level of safety and reduce capital costs for reactors of both types are already known, and time and money are needed for their implementation. By the time society realizes the need further development In the nuclear power industry, the technology of the two-component structure will actually be prepared, although much still needs to be done in terms of optimizing the nuclear power plant and the structure of the industry, including the fuel cycle enterprises.

The level of environmental impact is mainly determined by the amount of radionuclides in the fuel cycle (uranium, plutonium) and in storage facilities (Np, Am, Cm, fission products).

The risk from exposure to short-lived isotopes, for example 1 1 I and 9 0 Sr, l 7 Cs, can be reduced to an acceptable level by increasing the safety of nuclear power plants, storage facilities, and fuel cycle facilities. The acceptability of this risk can be proven in practice. But it is difficult to prove and impossible to demonstrate the reliability of the burial of long-lived actinides and fission products over millions of years.

Undoubtedly, it is impossible to abandon the search for ways of reliable disposal of radioactive waste, but it is necessary to develop the possibility of using actinides for energy production, i.e. closure of the fuel cycle not only for uranium and plutonium, but also for actinides (Np, Am, Cm, etc.). Transmutation of hazardous long-lived fission products in a system of thermal neutron reactors will complicate the structure of nuclear energy due to additional technological processes on the manufacture and processing of nuclear fuel or will increase the number of types of nuclear power plants. The introduction of Np, Am, Cm, other actinides and fission products into reactor fuel will complicate their design, require the development of new types of nuclear fuel, and adversely affect safety.

In this regard, the possibility of creating a three-component structure of atomic energy is being considered, consisting of thermal and fast reactors and reactors for burning Np, Am, Cm and other actinides and transmutation of some fission products.

The most important problems are the processing and disposal of radioactive waste, which can be converted into nuclear fuel.

In the first half of the twenty-first century, mankind will have to make a scientific and technical breakthrough on the path of mastering new types of energy, including electronuclear energy using charged particle accelerators, and, in the future, thermonuclear, which requires joint efforts and international cooperation.

Tianwan NPP is the largest in terms of unit capacity of power units among all NPPs currently under construction in China. Its general plan provides for the possibility of building four power units with a capacity of 1000 MW each. The station is located between Beijing and Shanghai on the shores of the Yellow Sea. Construction works on the site began in 1998. The first power unit of the NPP with the pressurized water-cooled power reactor VVER-1000/428 and the K-1000-60 / 3000 turbine, launched in May 2006, was commissioned on June 2, 2007, and the second, similar unit, on September 12, 2007. Currently, both power units of the nuclear power plant operate stably at 100% capacity and supply electricity to the Chinese province of Jiangsu. It is planned to build the third and fourth power units of the Tianwan NPP.

NUCLEAR POWER
a field of technology based on the use of the fission reaction of atomic nuclei for the generation of heat and the production of electricity. In 1990, nuclear power plants (NPPs) of the world produced 16% of electricity. Such power plants operated in 31 countries and were built in 6 more countries. The nuclear power sector is most significant in France, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Bulgaria and Switzerland, i.e. in those industrialized countries where natural energy resources are insufficient. These countries generate from a quarter to half of their electricity at nuclear power plants. The United States produces only an eighth of its electricity at nuclear power plants, but this is about one-fifth of its world production. Atomic energy remains the subject of heated debate. The proponents and opponents of nuclear energy sharply differ in their assessments of its safety, reliability, and economic efficiency. In addition, there is a widespread opinion about the possible leakage of nuclear fuel from the production of electric power and its use for the production of nuclear weapons.
Nuclear fuel cycle. Nuclear power is a complex industry that includes many industrial processes that together form the fuel cycle. There are different types of fuel cycles, depending on the type of reactor and how the final stage of the cycle proceeds. Typically, the fuel cycle consists of the following processes. The mines produce uranium ore. The ore is crushed to separate the uranium dioxide, and the radioactive waste goes to the dump. The resulting uranium oxide (yellow cake) is converted into uranium hexafluoride - a gaseous compound. To increase the concentration of uranium-235, uranium hexafluoride is enriched at isotope separation plants. Then the enriched uranium is again converted into solid uranium dioxide, from which fuel pellets are made. Fuel elements (fuel rods) are collected from the pellets, which are combined into assemblies for insertion into the core of the nuclear reactor of a nuclear power plant. The spent fuel removed from the reactor has high level radiation and after cooling on the territory of the power plant is sent to a special storage. It is also envisaged to remove waste with a low level of radiation accumulated during the operation and maintenance of the station. At the end of its service life, the reactor itself must be decommissioned (with decontamination and disposal of the reactor units as waste). Each stage of the fuel cycle is regulated to ensure the safety and protection of people environment.
Nuclear reactors. Industrial nuclear reactors were originally developed only in countries with nuclear weapons. USA, USSR, Great Britain and France were actively investigating different versions of nuclear reactors. However, later in the nuclear power industry, three main types of reactors began to dominate, differing mainly in fuel, coolant used to maintain the required core temperature, and a moderator used to reduce the speed of neutrons released during the decay process and needed to maintain the chain reaction. Among them, the first (and most widespread) type is an enriched uranium reactor, in which both the coolant and the moderator are ordinary, or "light" water (light water reactor). There are two main types of light-water reactors: a reactor in which steam rotating turbines is formed directly in the core (boiling-water reactor), and a reactor in which steam is formed in an external, or second, circuit connected to a heat exchanger and - water power reactor - VVER). The development of a light water reactor began under the programs of the US armed forces. Thus, in the 1950s, General Electric and Westinghouse developed light water reactors for submarines and aircraft carriers of the US Navy. These firms were also involved in the implementation of military programs for the development of technologies for the regeneration and enrichment of nuclear fuel. In the same decade, a boiling graphite-moderated reactor was developed in the Soviet Union. The second type of reactor, which has found practical application, is a gas-cooled reactor (with graphite moderator). Its creation was also closely related to early nuclear weapons development programs. In the late 1940s - early 1950s, Great Britain and France, striving to create their own atomic bombs, focused on the development of gas-cooled reactors, which are quite efficient weapon-grade plutonium and besides, they can work on natural uranium. The third type of reactor that has had commercial success is a reactor in which both the coolant and the moderator are heavy water, and the fuel is also natural uranium. At the beginning of the nuclear age, the potential benefits of a heavy water reactor were explored in a number of countries. However, then the production of such reactors was concentrated mainly in Canada, in part because of its vast reserves of uranium.
Development of the nuclear industry. After the Second World War, tens of billions of dollars were invested in the electric power industry all over the world. This construction boom was fueled by the rapid growth in demand for electricity, at a rate that far outstripped population and national income growth. The main emphasis was placed on thermal power plants (TPPs) operating on coal and, to a lesser extent, on oil and gas, as well as hydroelectric power plants. There was no industrial-type nuclear power plant until 1969. By 1973, virtually all industrialized countries had exhausted the resources of large-scale hydropower. The jump in energy prices after 1973, the rapid increase in the need for electricity, as well as the growing concern about the possibility of loss of independence of the national energy - all this contributed to the approval of the view of nuclear power as the only real alternative source of energy in the foreseeable future. The embargo for Arabian oil in 1973-1974 generated an additional wave of orders and optimistic forecasts for the development of nuclear power. But every next year made his own adjustments to these forecasts. On the one hand, nuclear energy had its supporters in governments, in the uranium industry, research laboratories and among influential energy companies. On the other hand, a strong opposition arose, in which groups united to defend the interests of the population, the purity of the environment and the rights of consumers. The disputes, which continue to this day, have focused mainly on the issues of the harmful effects of various stages of the fuel cycle on the environment, the likelihood of reactor accidents and their possible consequences, the organization of construction and operation of reactors, acceptable options for capturing the potential for sabotaging and nuclear waste, at nuclear power plants, as well as issues of multiplying national and international efforts in the field of nuclear weapons nonproliferation.
Security concerns. The Chernobyl disaster and other accidents of nuclear reactors in the 1970s and 1980s, among other things, clearly showed that such accidents are often unpredictable. For example, in Chernobyl, the reactor of the 4th power unit was seriously damaged as a result of a sudden power surge that occurred during its planned shutdown, due to a reason that remained unknown. The reactor was in a concrete shell and was equipped with an emergency cooling system and other modern security systems. But it never occurred to anyone that when the reactor was turned off, a sharp jump in power could occur and the gaseous hydrogen formed in the reactor after such a jump, mixed with air, would explode so that it would destroy the reactor building. As a result of the accident, more than 30 people died, more than 200,000 people in Kiev and neighboring regions received large doses of radiation, and the water source of Kiev was contaminated. To the north of the crash site - right in the path of the radiation cloud - are the vast Pripyat bogs, which are of vital importance to the ecology of Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia. In the United States, businesses building and operating nuclear reactors also faced multiple safety issues that slowed construction down, forcing numerous design and operating changes, and increasing energy costs and costs. There seem to have been two main sources of this difficulty. One is the lack of knowledge and experience in this new energy industry. Another is the development of nuclear reactor technology, in the course of which new problems arise. But old ones also remain, such as corrosion of steam generator pipes and cracking of pipelines of boiling reactors. Other safety problems, for example, damage caused by sudden changes in the flow rate of the coolant, have not been fully resolved either.
Nuclear Energy Economics. Investments in nuclear power, like investments in other areas of electricity production, are economically justified if two conditions are met: the cost of a kilowatt-hour is not more than with the cheapest alternative method of production, and the expected demand for electricity can be high enough to be supplied at a price that exceeds its cost. In the early 1970s, the world economic outlook looked very favorable for nuclear energy: both the demand for electricity and the prices of the main types of fuel - coal and oil - grew rapidly. As for the cost of building a nuclear power plant, almost all experts were convinced that it would be stable or even begin to decline. However, in the early 1980s, it became clear that these estimates were wrong: the growth in demand for electricity had stopped, prices for natural fuel not only did not grow anymore, but even began to decline, and the construction of a nuclear power plant was much more expensive than the most pessimistic forecast suggested. As a result, atomic energy everywhere entered a period of serious economic difficulties, and the most serious ones were in the country where it arose and developed the most intensively - in the USA. If you spend comparative analysis economy of nuclear energy in the United States, it becomes clear why this branch of the industry has lost its competitiveness. Since the early 1970s, nuclear power plant costs have skyrocketed. The cost of a conventional thermal power plant consists of direct and indirect capital investments, non-fuel costs, operating costs and costs maintenance... Over the lifetime of a coal-fired TPP, fuel costs are on average 50-60% of all costs. In the case of nuclear power plants, capital investments dominate, accounting for about 70% of all costs. The capital costs of new nuclear reactors, on average, significantly exceed the fuel costs of coal-fired power plants over their entire service life, thereby negating the fuel savings advantage in the case of nuclear power plants.
Prospects for nuclear energy. Among those who insist on the need to continue the search for safe and economical ways to develop nuclear power, two main directions can be distinguished. Proponents of the first believe that all efforts should be focused on eliminating public distrust in the safety of nuclear technologies. For this, it is necessary to develop new reactors that are safer than the existing light-water reactors. Two types of reactors are of interest here: a "technologically extremely safe" reactor and a "modular" high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. The prototype of the modular gas-cooled reactor was developed in Germany, as well as in the USA and Japan. Unlike a light-water reactor, the design of a modular gas-cooled reactor is such that the safety of its operation is ensured passively - without direct actions of operators or an electrical or mechanical protection system. In technologically extremely safe reactors, a passive protection system is also used. Such a reactor, the idea of \u200b\u200bwhich was proposed in Sweden, does not appear to have advanced beyond the design stage. But he has received serious support in the US from those who see him as potential advantages over a modular gas-cooled reactor. But the future of both options is vague due to their uncertain cost, development difficulties, as well as the controversial future of atomic energy itself. Supporters of the other direction believe that until the moment when developed countries new power plants will be required, and little time is left to develop new reactor technologies. In their opinion, the first priority is to stimulate investment in nuclear power. But in addition to these two prospects for the development of nuclear energy, a completely different point of view has been formed. It is pinning its hopes on a more complete utilization of supplied energy, renewable energy resources (solar batteries, etc.) and energy conservation. According to supporters of this point of view, if advanced countries switch to the development of more economical light sources, household electrical appliances, heating equipment and air conditioners, then the saved electricity will be enough to do without all existing nuclear power plants. The observed significant decrease in electricity consumption indicates that economy can be an important factor in limiting electricity demand. Thus, nuclear power has not yet passed the tests of efficiency, safety and public acceptance. Its future now depends on how efficiently and reliably control over the construction and operation of nuclear power plants will be carried out, as well as how successfully a number of other problems, such as the problem of radioactive waste disposal, will be solved. The future of nuclear power also depends on the viability and expansion of its strong competitors - coal-fired thermal power plants, new energy-saving technologies and renewable energy resources.
see also
NUCLEAR FISSION;
INDUSTRIAL WASTE RECYCLING.
LITERATURE
Dementyev B.A. Nuclear power reactors. M., 1984 Thermal and atomic power stations... Handbook, book. 3.M., 1985 Sinev N.M. The Economics of Nuclear Power: Fundamentals of Nuclear Fuel Economics Technology. NPP economics. M., 1987 Samoilov O.B., Usynin G.B., Bakhmetyev A.M. Safety of nuclear power plants. M., 1989

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

See what "ATOMIC ENERGY" is in other dictionaries:

nuclear power - The energy sector using nuclear energy for electrification and heating purposes. As a field of science and technology, it develops methods and means of converting nuclear energy into electrical and thermal energy. )